After the stock market crash in the autumn of 1987 even optimists were predicting a sharp slowdown in the growth of the world economy in 1988. In the event, the GNP of the industrialised countries increased by 4% in real terms last year. What is the outlook for 1989?

1989 was another highly satisfactory year for the industrialised countries, with real gross national product growing by an average of around 31/2%. Performance differed from one country to another, however, with the USA beginning to lag behind. Is this the harbinger of a general slowdown in growth?